


Flowers That Twist into Eternity

by eri_quin



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-08-18
Packaged: 2017-12-23 23:26:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy Jackson is the reincarnation of a death god, more commonly known in certain circles as shinigami. Contacted by Hades before reaching Camp Half-Blood, he deals with his past life and his new duties. It doesn't help when some blond guy is your reincarnated wife and the gods look like people from your past.</p><p>That means Luke Castellan may be the reincarnation of his wife Miyako...but he's male when she wasn't. And he'd been fine separating his past life and his current life, but that little seems to be the single snag that won't get through to him. And the Olympians were the original models of people he'd once known and loved, but only their images remain on the faces of strangers.</p><p>Perhaps the separation of the past and present wasn't as clear cut as he thought he could make it.</p><p>BLEACH elements, and dead people not really being dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nejibana, Twisted Flower

Utter horror was the only thing running through Percy’s mind. Mrs. Dodds was some kind of monster. Apparently, a monster out for his blood.

 

Did he mention just how terrified he was?

 

What happened next was kind of a blur. Mr. Brunner wheeled in, tossed him a _pen_ , that transformed into a sword, and then he was facing off against Mrs. Dodds slash monster thing.

 

And the only thing he could think about was that the sword in his hand didn’t feel right. It felt entirely wrong to him to be holding it, almost as if he would be insulting something else just to be handling this sword.

 

_"Rankle the seas and the skies!"_

He had the urge to shout out those words, but he had no idea why. He didn’t even know where those words had come from or what they meant.

 

Instead, he ran forward with the sword and tried to slash at Mrs. Dodds, eventually hitting her and turning her into…golden dust? He shook his head and decided he’d think about it later, turning to Mr. Brunner, blinking when he realized the wheelchair bound teacher was nowhere to be seen. And that strange sword in his hand had become a pen once more.

 

It was all very strange.

 

He went back outside, seeing everyone still gathered and Mr. Brunner off eating like nothing had happened. He saw Grover still sitting where they had been together before, looking nervous and panicked. Cautiously, he went back to sit near him.

 

“Percy! Oh gods, you’re okay! What happened?”

 

 _‘Gods?’_ he resisted the urge to narrow his eyes and instead chuckled hesitantly.

 

“Oh man, I thought Mrs. Dodds was going to kill me,” Percy scratched the back of his head nervously.

 

Grover paused before laughing timidly, “Mrs. Dodds? Who are you talking about?”

 

Percy really did want to narrow his eyes this time, but once again he refrained. But he’d caught the hesitation on Grover’s part.

 

“Mrs. Dodds? You know, our pre-algebra teacher?” he’d already mentioned her; he couldn’t take it back and pretend to be oblivious. But he could potentially find a way to put this to his advantage. He just had to be more confused (which wasn’t hard because he really was), and keep the suspicions down. Not that he shouldn’t act a little suspicious, because then that _would_ look suspicious. He just had to be careful not to overdo it.

 

“Percy, are you sure you’re okay?” Grover had finally grown into his role and was playing the lie more comfortably, Percy noted. Probably because Percy was upping the confusion. But he wasn’t getting anywhere and he just wanted some answers!

 

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“There isn’t a Mrs. Dodds, man. There’s only Mrs. Kerr,” Grover smiled uneasily.

 

Percy blinked, “Huh?”

 

“Mrs. Kerr? _She’s_ the pre-algebra teacher. Who’s this Mrs. Dodds ya talkin’ about Percy?”

 

What to do? What to do?

 

“W-wasn’t there a Mrs. Dodds? I…I could’ve sworn,” Percy blinked in confusion, half acting and half real about it.

 

Grover looked confused at him, though Percy didn’t know if it was genuine or not. Or the reason why his friend was confused; he was only guessing that Grover was confused about Percy’s confusion of the teachers.

 

Ugh, Percy was confusing himself.

 

“Ah, never mind. I’m not sure about anything. I must be real tired or something,” Percy evaded.

 

Grover nodded agreeing, “Yeah, that must be it. You should go to sleep early today, maybe catch up on that sleep, eh?”

 

Percy nodded distracted, thoughts whirling in his head. That night, he tried to go to sleep early, but instead he ended up staying awake and listening to Grover snoring away. Frustrated, he got up and walked out of his dorm room, wandering down the hall. Making it outside of his dorm, he found a bench and stared up at the sky. The stars twinkled and shined down on him, and he wondered what it would be like to be a star.

 

“Late for someone as young as you to be out.”

 

Velvety. Dangerous and smooth, but velvety was all he could describe the voice.

 

Stiffening, he slowly turned to face the man that was leaning against a tree nearby, wearing a dark expensive looking suit, shoulder-length dark hair tied at the nape of the man’s neck. Dark obsidian eyes glittered ominously at him.

 

“W-who are you?” Percy stuttered, pushing down the urge to shudder.

 

“Who I am is not important,” the man murmured. “It’s who _you_ are that will make the coming days vital to destiny, Perseus Jackson.”

 

His eyes widened and he stared at the strange man terrified.

 

“How do you know who I am?!”

 

The man smiled grimly, pushing off of the tree and walking leisurely towards him. Percy was screaming at himself to move, to run away, but instead he stayed rooted to the spot, flinching once the man was right in front of him.

 

“Perseus, I can tell you everything you want to know. All you need to do is grab my hand.”

 

Percy did want to know what was going on and he had a feeling this man knew…but was it going to be worth it? Was knowing everything going to be worth whatever consequences came his way? And the fact was…just how much could Percy really trust what this guy was saying?

 

Knowing it was pretty stupid but going to take the risk anyway, Percy just shrugged and grabbed the man’s hand. What he didn’t expect was for a dark chariot attached to two equally dark scary horses to burst neighing out of the ground.

 

“What the hell?!” he screeched, feeling himself almost flying behind the man as the mysterious stranger practically leaped, gracefully moving through the air to land in the chariot.

 

“Tartarus, young Perseus,” the man said in dark humor. “Tartarus. And I am Hades, Lord of the Dead. And your uncle.”

 

Before he could speak another word in response to that, Hades clucked his tongue and grabbed onto the reigns, and they were riding through the air into the new tunnel from where the magnanimous chariot had come from.

 

Percy wanted to scream, but the scream got stuck in his throat. Instead, embarrassingly so, he threw himself at Hades’ side and clutched at the man, scrunching his eyes closed and waiting for the damn ride to be over.

 

Suddenly, things stopped and he warily peeked one eye open.

 

“Is it over?” he mumbled.

 

Hades chuckled darkly, “Yes. You may open your eyes now.”

 

Swallowing nervously, Percy did so and sweatdropped at the airport-like appearance of the Underworld. He was still unsure about believing all this so far, but with what just happened he’d be hard pressed to push it off as a nightmare…

 

Hades waved his hand lazily, transforming his chariot into a go cart after letting his horses go, both of which neighed and trotted off idly.

 

“Get on, Perseus,” his…uncle drawled, smoothly slipping into the driver’s seat.

 

“Ngh…Just…Percy, Lord Un –uh…U-Uncle Lord….Hades,” Percy ended lamely. This was really uncomfortable…

 

Hades raised an eyebrow at him, but his lips twitched upwards slightly. Percy nibbled his lower lip and shrugged apologetically.

 

“Just Lord Hades for now, young Percy.”

 

Percy nodded and Hades began driving the black gleaming go cart to their destination. Percy’s head swiveled this way and that, trying to catch everything and not miss anything as he passed by.

 

“We’ll be reaching the throne room soon, and that is where you will have to make your decision,” Hades spoke to him again, his velvety voice running over Percy’s skin.

 

Percy shivered and wondered if he was heading to his death.

 

In the extravagant throne room, Hades didn’t head to his gigantic throne. Instead, he chose to sit on the steps leading to it, still normal-sized and looking at Percy. Getting the hint, Percy nervously walked over there, nearly running in his haste to not keep his uncle waiting.

 

“Okay, Percy. What I tell you, will be the foundations of your self,” Hades said seriously. “It is the truth and what you make of it will shape your destiny from here out. But you have to make a choice. I can give you the truth. The _entirety_ of it. Or you can choose to find out only what Chiron and Grover have been hiding from you. Only the whole truth of that.”

 

Percy wasn’t even going to ask how Hades knew about Grover, but he didn’t know who this Chiron was.

 

So he asked.

 

“Who’s Chiron?” he scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

 

“That will be part of the truth that needs to be revealed. Either way of your choices though,” Hades added as an afterthought. “So no matter your choice, you will find out about him.”

 

Percy took a deep breath and nodded at the god.

 

“I understand. I choose to know everything, Lord Hades,” he said decisively.

 

Hades smiled mysteriously, but began telling Percy everything, starting about him being a demigod.

 

“Your mother met your father on that beach of yours. Montauk. There, the two of them struck a romance that lasted until your father was forced back to his kingdom. Do you wish to find out who he is, or do you want to wait until he chooses to claim you?”

 

He didn’t know what being claimed meant, but he definitely didn’t want to wait to find out who was his father. He didn’t know if he was excited or angry, but he knew that he just _had_ to know.

 

“Please, Lord Hades. I have to know who he is.”

 

Hades nodded grimly, “Your father is my brother, which explains how I am your uncle. Poseidon, God of the Sea, Stormbringer, Earthshaker, Father of Horses.”

 

Percy nodded, accepting it. He would probably think more about it later, but right now he needed Hades to keep explaining.

 

“That means you are a demigod, young Percy. Half mortal, half god,” and then Hades began explaining about who Mr. Brunner is, what Grover was and why the two was attached to Percy. He talked about Camp Half-Blood, and he even explained about the pact between the three brothers and of the prophecy.

 

“It is not too early to tell you of it, Percy, I hope you understand. It is to my belief that it will benefit you in the long run, that you know exactly what you are in for. You will be better prepared for it, and much more informed,” Hades said, seeing Percy’s eyes widen and panic enter them. “You must calm yourself. Think on it later. But for now, we must continue. You have to know everything now, ‘break’ everything all at once.”

 

Percy nodded, not feeling any better about it, but understanding.

 

“Now, I must tell you what is extremely important to me,” Hades clenched a hand, Percy noted but didn’t say anything about it. “Percy, a long time ago I created a separate world called Soul Society to help me deal with souls. It’s a hard business, dealing with death and the souls of the people. And as you can see, the Underworld is becoming too crowded. But Soul Society is destroyed.”

 

Hades held up a hand to stall Percy’s questions.

 

“There was something called a Winter War some time ago. A man named Sousuke Aizen wanted to be God. To do so, he had to usurp the throne of the King, which incidentally is my throne and I was King of Soul Society. Not that anyone knew. And the throne room led to this throne room. He had to be stopped at all costs and the situation had grown too out of control. The only solution…was to completely wipe out Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, the opposite dimension of Soul Society for ‘bad’ souls and where Aizen had been ruling over for a time. I understood that many souls would be absolutely wiped out, many good, and that the balance would be broken. But it had to be done. And to counteract the broken balance, I stabilized it by once again overstuffing souls into my kingdom here. But I cannot keep it up anymore and I need help in maintaining balance between the world of the living and the world of the dead. So I’ve been slowly recreating the dimensions of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, and now I need what is called a shinigami, those of Soul Society whose main job was to maintain the balance, to perform the duties that I require of them, such as purifying Hollows –bad souls –and performing Konso on good souls –like ghosts. You’ll also, from time to time, watch over the people in the Rukongai, the city outside of Seireitei, both places which make up Soul Society itself.”

 

“Woah, woah!” Percy backtracked the last sentence in his mind. “Did you just say ‘you’ll’? Wait a second, I can’t be a shinigami. I don’t know what to do and I’m definitely sure I’m not shinigami material.”

 

Hades smiled grimly, “When I wiped out Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, I knew I would also be wiping out the shinigami. Those souls will never again be reincarnated and will never exist again in any form. However, there are shinigami who died before the wipe, and there were a handful of powerful and responsible ones that because they died before the wipe have been able to be reincarnated. But there was only one I wished to see, and was lucky enough to find. The others will be lost, happy enough in their new human lives. You, however, must take up the mantle of shinigami once more. Because you, reincarnated as the demigod Percy Jackson, are, or rather was, Kaien Shiba –former lieutenant of the Gotei 13, Squad 13 under Captain Jyuushiro Ukitake.”

 

Percy shook his head in disbelief, but there was nothing else for it.

 

“I understand that I just gave vague details, but I needed to get out the important stuff first. I promise that as needed, I will become more specific when the subject comes up,” Hades took his attention again. “But there is no other way, Percy. You must be the shinigami I need to rebuild Soul Society.”

 

“What…what next then?” Percy held back his grimace.

 

“I will need to restore your memories from your past life. You will still be Percy Jackson, but you will remember how you were as Kaien Shiba.”

 

“I understand,” the newly deemed demigod shinigami sighed.

 

Hades nodded and touched his hand against Percy’s forehead, his hand glowing for a second before Percy began seeing another’s life flashing through his eyes. But there was one memory that stood out.

 

_There she was again. Beautiful Miyako. Her long tresses flowed from her head, looking like the ocean’s water in the darkest of the night, the dark skies reflecting the watery surface._

_“Kaien-sempai, will you help me with this kido? I am having trouble being able to use the incantation to properly summon the light beams,” Miyako asked in frustration._

_“But of course, Miyako-san,” Kaien inwardly sighed, and strode towards her._

But that had led to them getting together…

 

Another memory cut in and instead Percy was faced with his death.

 

_“I dragged you into this. My stubbornness has caused you pain. I’m sorry. You must be torn apart inside. Thanks to you, my heart can still stay here.”_

 

“Kuchiki,” Percy choked out, dropping to his knees and clutching at his chest.

 

“Your death then,” Hades said gently, and Percy was sure that it was an unusual tone for the god to take.

 

“I made her kill me,” Percy bit his lip. “And Miyako…my wife! Has she been reincarnated too? Lord Hades, do you know if –”

 

“Percy,” Hades stopped him. “You are _12_. And you are Percy now. You don’t have a wife.”

 

Percy swallowed harshly, “But she…”

 

“Don’t go looking for her,” Hades ordered. “You won’t be happy to know her now,” he warned.

 

Percy nodded reluctantly.

 

“Now, it’s time for training. I will train you myself in the four arts of the shinigami: Zanjutsu –swordmanship, Hoho –agility, Hakuda –hand-to-hand combat, and Kido. I assume that from your memories, that you remember these things, but you must retrain your body, mind, and your spiritual energy to know them again. Do you understand, Percy?”

 

“Yes, Lord Hades,” oh, Percy was so not looking forward to that…

 

Suddenly, Hades grinned sadistically.

 

“First things first.”

 

Hades thrust his palm out, straight into Percy’s gut, and forcefully took the breath right out of him. But all of a sudden, he felt himself slide like water and then he was looking at his downed body. It was also a lot harder to breathe and move around in his current state.

 

“What the hell?!” Percy screeched.

 

“This is your spiritual body. Your physical body is on the ground,” Hades explained coolly. “I’m going to take you through a shortcut to gain your shinigami powers. Only one other has done it this way before, and he was also unfortunately wiped out.”

 

“Okay…but why am I out of my body?” Percy forced himself not to whimper.

 

“The more your spiritual energy rises, the sharper the movements of your spiritual body becomes. If you can manage to move even better with your spiritual body than you can with your mortal body, then your spiritual energy will almost be up to par as a shinigami,” Hades explained. “To do this, I’m going to fight you. We’re going to keep going until one of us can’t move.”

 

“What?!”

 

But it was too late and then Percy narrowly dived a hit from Hades, the area he was just at exploding in debris and dust.

 

“Lord Hades!”

 

“No time to talk. More running!”

 

After an hour of just running, Percy realized that he was fast enough to outrun his uncle. If he could outrun him…

 

“Then I can dodge him,” he muttered. He’ll land a hit. He had to.

 

Percy stopped and quickly turned to face his incoming uncle, whose fist was cocked back. At the last second, Percy dodged and smirked, throwing a punch that was supposed to hit Hades’ side. However, with just a shift of Hades’ body, Percy only ended up grazing his uncle’s clothes. Without warning, he was sucker punched in the face and he flew to the side.

 

“Ouch,” Percy muttered, twitching and already regretting accepting Hades’ offer.

 

“Ouch?” Hades asked, smirking at his nephew.

 

“…It hurts too much to say anything else,” Percy forced out and then refused to speak anymore.

 

Hades rolled his eyes, “Lesson cleared, young Percy.”

 

Percy only blinked up at him.

 

“I never said you actually had to beat me,” Hades said dryly. “As if you could. I am a god, Percy. Besides which, the point of this was for you to gain your spiritual energy faster, which is more easily done when the soul is in danger of being destroyed. You can breathe and move easier in your current form now, can’t you?”

 

Percy noted his breathing and moved his hand and arm a little, noting that (outside of his exhaustion and pain) yes, he could breathe and move easier in his spiritual body than earlier.

 

“Hm…perhaps I should have given you the headgear,” Hades muttered to himself. “The other one had it…”

 

“You had headgear?” Percy growled in irritation.

 

Hades shrugged, “Yeah. But it’s useless. It’s just for show. Didn’t help the other one at all…”

 

Percy groaned.

 

Hades nodded absentmindedly, completely lost in thought.

 

“You see that chain in front of you, hanging from the hole in your chest and connecting you to your body? That is called the Chain of Fate. It is what binds your soul to your body. Without it, you will die and never be able to return to your body.”

 

And then Hades promptly cut the chain.

 

Percy screamed in pain and panic, “Why the hell did you do that?!”

 

Hades, absentmindedly again, put away the sword, “Hm…the severed end of the chain on your chest is starting to corrode. Once it’s reached your chest, you’ll become a Hollow. More on that later, but first…”

 

The Lord of the Dead suddenly kicked Percy into a pit that appeared out of nowhere, landing at the bottom with a loud thud.

 

“So, anyways! To avoid being a Hollow, you become a shinigami! There’s a gas down there that speeds up the Hollow transformation from months and years to just 72 hours. All you have to do to avoid that is climb up the shaft and become a shinigami before that happens. But…Bakudo #99! Kin!”

 

Percy screeched in both indignation and surprise, as he was caught off guard by his arms being restrained behind his back with what he guessed was spiritual fabric and iron shafts.

 

“I can’t climb up with my hands tied up behind my back like this, old man!” Percy yelled disrespectfully.

 

Not even fazed, Hades proceeded to call down the shaft.

 

“You better get started on scaling the walls or else you’ll become a Hollow! Then I’ll have to destroy you,” Hades ended on a cheerful note.

 

“Are you planning on killing me?” Percy muttered.

 

“I will have to if you give up,” Hades answered seriously. “By the way, don’t get hungry. Hunger is a sign that you’ll become a Hollow soon.”

 

Percy shivered, glaring balefully up at the god as Hades walked away and left the demigod alone in the shaft. His chain started another period of corrosion, leading him to start screaming in pain again, writhing on the ground. Minutes, hours passed. He didn’t know how long he was down there, screaming when his chain corroded and panting in exhaustion when it went dormant.

 

He collapsed again, another period of corrosion crippling him. But it was different this time. It wasn’t stopping, and it was worse than before. All of the links were being eaten up at the same time.

 

Screaming, he arched his back and felt something forming over his face. Something like a mask…

 

Then he was pulled into another place as his vision darkened, only for him to open his eyes and see a whole different world. It was an underwater city, the water surrounding the clear dome secured around the gleaming white walls of the gigantic city, a huge palace centered right in the middle of it.

 

“Percy,” a melodic voice, like musical wind chimes, called out to him.

 

Blinking, he turned and immediately spotted a bewitching woman. She was extremely beautiful, ethereally so, with impossibly long _blue_ (of all colors!) hair, an aura of gracefulness that made Percy feel awkward and clumsy, and seemed naturally angelic with a gentle elegance. She held herself proudly, but tranquil –a serene radiance that put Percy to calm immediately the longer he stared at her. She looked completely composed, staring back at him calmly.

 

But it was her eyes that caught his attention the most.

 

They were as blue as her hair, looking at him in a mixture of fondness, sorrow, and longing.

 

“You’ve forgotten me, Kaien. Or shall I call you Percy now?” there was that musical voice again.

 

“Percy,” he croaked, feeling sad himself –sad that for some reason he’d disappointed this goddess in front of him somehow.

 

“Percy,” she murmured.

 

“Who are you?” he forced himself to ask.

 

She spoke but he couldn’t hear.

 

“What?” Why couldn’t he hear her?

 

“It’s so sad, Percy. You can’t hear me anymore? What has happened to you? Hear my name, Percy!”

 

“What _is_ your name? Why can’t I hear you?” Percy shouted.

 

She smiled sadly at him, “We used to be so close, Kaien. It saddens and distresses me so that my name eludes you. How many times must I repeat my name. It is –!”

 

“I’m not Kaien!” he screamed, frustrated that he still couldn’t hear her name and also that his former life was seemingly beginning to encompass who he was.

 

“No one knows me better than you do,” she murmured. “Not in this world, my beloved _Kaien_ ,” her eyes glittered mysteriously, and this time he just knew for sure she had called him that on purpose.

 

“My name is –!” he was cut off when he was suddenly shoved out of the dome, and inside of the waters outside of the protected city. He began panicking, struggling in the water and trying not to breathe.

 

_“Do not fear, Percy. Shinigami control death.”_

_‘But I’m not a shinigami yet!’_ he protested in his mind.

 

_“You are. You must look deep in your soul, my beloved one. Control the spiritual particles around you and swim back, Percy. Try to remember a time when you were a shinigami, when you were Kaien. Recall your training. Hurry! Before your world crumbles!”_

Percy gritted his teeth and frantically tried to shift through his new recollection of his past life, trying to remember anything. He was still having trouble remembering bits and parts, some memories were hazy, some he’d glazed through and only had a vague recollection of, memories that stood out, but he really hadn’t had time to gather his memories of his life as Kaien Shiba together yet. So he forced himself to concentrate, eyes closing instinctively.

 

His eyes snapped open and he began swimming back, going faster the more attune he became with the spirit particles surrounding him, and the more he grew used to controlling them. Bursting into the dome, he automatically concentrated and remembered Kaien summoning Spirit Threads. He caught sight of the thick red ribbon flowing to his side and he grasped it, following it quickly to the center of the city (barely noticing the water slipping through the cracks of the dome and flooding the city from everywhere), in the courtyard before the palace. It led straight to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, and he ran towards it, hand automatically reaching for the hilt of a sword peaking from the depths of the strangely deep water of the fountain.

 

For a second, he blacked out.

 

Regaining awareness just as quickly, he saw he was out of the shaft and facing an amused Hades, feeling the familiar cloth of Shihakusho, the uniform of the shinigami, clinging to his body once more. He didn’t think it would feel so familiar...

 

Even more disturbing was the feel of a mask completely on his face.

 

He hadn’t meant to freak out and practically smack the flat side of his sword against the mask, breaking the mask in half and bringing the sword to his attention. Huh...he hadn’t even noticed he had it in his hand.

 

Percy stared at it. It looked like an average katana, with a rectangular cross guard and smooth rounded edges, and the hilt was colored dark blue.

 

“Percy? Are you done staring yet?” Hades’ voice sounded mocking.

 

He snapped his head up to stare at him, anger slowly growing to cloud his vision.

 

“You bastard! I could’ve died down there!” Percy snapped. “I swore I would kill you when I got out, and now I’m out!”

 

Hades just kept smirking. The god tapped the obsidian crown gleaming on his head.

 

“Lesson three. Knock the crown off my head, boy.”

 

“With pleasure,” Percy growled. “R-rankle the seas and the skies!”

 

The name. What was the name? What was _her name_?

 

“Hm, interesting. You know the activation, and yet you don’t know your zanpakuto’s name? How backwards,” Hades said.

 

Percy’s eyes flashed.

 

“I’ll show you backwards!

 

“Rankle the seas and the skies! Nejibana!” he roared.

 

Started 6/1/10 -7/10/10


	2. That Familiar Smile

When Percy had gotten back, a week had passed. And he hadn’t been missed. In fact, strangely enough, it was like he had never left. Apparently, Hades somehow managed to make someone look like him and pretend he was there. Funnily enough, fake him had taken the exams and passed them all, averagely so as to not cause suspicion, but apparently it was good enough for Percy to be able to come back next year.

 

Wow. He’d have to thank Hades for that.

 

He tried to go back to playing the old Percy, which wasn’t too hard because he was still mostly him, but…in a way it was hard because many of his traits from his past life had stuck to him like glue. And some of those traits were very noticeable.

 

And did he mention how much he’d grown to really like afternoon naps?

 

There was other stuff Percy had taken to as well. He’d had this hugest craving for _ohagi_ lately and had debated sneaking out of school and desperately finding a Japanese restaurant or store where he could buy some.

 

What was even weirder was his growing intellect. The last minute assignments and tests being thrown around were starting to get easier for him to do. He wasn’t instantly answering questions correctly, but it was getting to that point. Even his dyslexia seemed to be gone overnight. And this was all very weird, considering he cringed away from academics whenever he could.

 

He still did, but at least he was no longer defeated by it (Haha, yes! Take that, School!).

 

With Grover missing, probably talking to _Chiron_ , he was free to walk around unheeded. He’d caught the two talking about him late at night not too long ago, and his curiosity had been peaked. He didn’t reveal himself, or even say anything to Grover after, but the talk was still fresh in his mind.

 

“Captain Jackson.”

 

He paused in his steps, standing still. He stared straight ahead of him, though his senses detected someone leaning against the wall in the hallway he’d just passed. Humming nonchalantly, he leaned on the wall on the other side of the corner connecting Percy’s wall and the other’s shadowed one.

 

“Thanatos,” he hmmed.

 

“Hollows,” Thanatos rasped.

 

Percy nodded. “I know.”

 

“East side, block from the old theater.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

“Once I take over your body, do you wish for me to continue to walk around the school or do something else?”

 

“Would you mind stealthily trailing Grover for me? I think he’s currently talking to Chiron again.”

 

“Alright then.”

 

They both simultaneously moved off of their walls and turned the corner, running into each other. But instead of a collision, Thanatos hit into him and moved into his body, at the same as Percy’s spiritual body exited out. They then went their different ways, Thanatos whistling an odd but eerie deathly tune that creeped out everyone as he walked by in Percy’s body, his face also somber, and Percy sprinting off and adding shunpo to increase his speed.

 

When he got to his destination, he saw three huge ugly Hollows roaring and stomping around, invisible to the human eye. Huffing exasperatedly at their appearance, he didn’t bother activating shikai and ran at all three, jumping into the air and smoothly doing a huge turn, cutting through all three Hollow masks. With a final roar, they dissipated and left him to float slowly to the ground.

 

Scratching his head in annoyance, he turned around and sped back to school. He grew even more annoyed at the fact that there wasn’t a single Japanese store or restaurant as he passed through. When would he be able to find some _ohagi_?

                                                                                                                                                                                          

He remembered Grover’s possible conversation with Chiron and decided that he should also report back to Hades. Using his zanpakuto to unlock the Seikaimon, _shoji_ paper doors appeared and he passed through them, a single jigokuchou alighting onto his shoulder and leading him through. Instead of appearing in the Soul Society, which was still being reconstructed and was almost completed, he reappeared directly into Hades’ throne room instead, with the black hell butterfly that had led him there immediately disappearing.

 

“I did not expect you right now. Is something the matter?” Hades raised an eyebrow, from where he was sitting on his throne in giant form.

 

Percy stared up at him, clasping his hands behind his back as he rocked on the balls of his feet nonchalantly.

 

“Just an update,” he shrugged.

 

Hades nodded and took a step off his throne, immediately shrinking to regular size. Percy began his report after, tempted to go into a dull drone. Hades would probably hit him for that though.

 

“So…lunch?” he asked the god cheekily.

 

Hades didn’t bother with a reply, waving a hand and a table with food appeared before the demigod shinigami. He sighed when he saw that there was still no _ohagi_. Glancing at his uncle, he saw the slight, very slight, smirk barely visible on the god’s face –and knew that Hades probably knew about his craving and had done it on purpose.

 

Or maybe he was being paranoid.

 

“Hey, Uncle?” Percy greeted as he sat down at the table. Hades indifferently sat down on the other side and plucked a shrimp from the shrimp cocktail glass, chewing on it thoughtfully. “You told me about the Quincies. How, when they were eradicated, it created an imbalance. Wouldn’t you wiping out Soul Society, Heuco Mundo, and quite a bit of Karakura Town make an imbalance –more so than the Quincy wipeout?”

 

Hades huffed in annoyance. “There was no Soul Society or Hueco Mundo in the first place. They are places I created just to ease the burden on the Underworld, as I originally told you. Therefore, the souls just reverted to going back to the Underworld. If you are talking about the imbalance between the world of the living, say Karakura Town’s near destruction, to the ratio of the souls in Soul Society, Heuco Mundo, then I suppose I can understand your reasoning. However, it is faulty.

 

“When Soul Society and Heuco Mundo were wiped out, the imbalance of the dead souls was counteracted by the Underworld. There was still a normal, well overstuffed of course, number of souls in the Underworld. When Karakura was wiped of most of its spiritually aware citizens, it was actually not enough to cause that much of a problem. You see, when the Quincies were eradicated, they had the numbers to cause an imbalance. A handful of people in Karakura was not problematic enough to cause chaos between the worlds, as opposed to the rest of the population of Karakura that survived.”

 

Percy frowned. “But…I don’t understand. How does the Underworld counteract the entirety of lost souls of Soul Society and Heuco Mundo, even if it holds a ‘normal ratio of souls’?”

 

Hades sighed. “Soul Society and Heuco Mundo, and those Karakura souls that were included, was wiped _completely_. As in, as if those souls had never existed. If they had just died, all of those souls would have gone to the Underworld and ruined the balance, causing more dead souls than the living souls and numbering the Underworld ratio over that of the living world. I chose, even hastily, to completely wipe them all out, as I said, to prevent the second coming of Aizen –whether in the form of a successor or his reincarnation. It would have been a cycle of repetition, unless the souls involved were out of the equation.”

 

“But you told me the balance had been broken.”

 

“I simplified it and softened it for your sake.”

 

Percy swallowed slowly, digesting the information he’d just found out.

 

“All those souls…to just disappear, if they had never existed at all…that’s so…so…” he swallowed again, clenching his hands as he thought about it.

 

“Cruel but efficient, if overkill,” Hades remarked coldly. He reluctantly softened, seeing his nephew trembling. “It is up to you so that something similar to Aizen doesn’t happen again. There should be no need for a last resort like that to be done once more. I was merely being thorough with the participants involved, giving it all a blank slate.”

 

“But…then the Karakura souls…they would’ve been included too! And yet you spoke as if their souls actually meant something to the balance…” Percy abruptly stood up, staring down at him disbelievingly.

 

“I _am_ trying to be kind and considerate to you,” Hades said coolly.

 

Percy grimaced. “Don’t. Just…if the truth is bad, just tell it to me. You don’t need to soften the blow. The sooner I…get over it, the easier it’ll be for me to move forward and act.”

 

Hades nodded appreciatively, sighing inwardly at his nephew’s stubbornness and shakily tough exterior. Percy reluctantly sat back down and they went back to their impromptu lunch.

 

“So, uh, how did you know I was Kaien? And why Kaien Shiba in the first place?” Percy hesitantly asked, bringing up conversation again.

 

“When people are reincarnated, they tend to bring over something from their last life. A quirk, a particular smile, hair, eyes, etc. You happened to be a near dead ringer for Kaien. The looks don’t exactly have to be the same, but close enough isn’t coincidence. There are differences between you two, of course, but even the differences are too similar. He had aqua green eyes, you have sea-green. Different but similar. And so on, like both of you are fair-skinned, but you are slightly darker than him. Both of you have raven black hair, whereas his is spikier and yours is softly wavier curls that are gravity-defying.

 

“And then there is the affinity for water. You should know by now Nejibana’s particularities. It is a water-based weapon, with its shikai being able to manipulate water and being hit with your zanpakuto is reminiscent of being hit by crashing waves, with water pouring out from either side of it. Part of its shikai form transforms into a trident, which is funnily enough your father’s weapon of choice. With your zanpakuto and your inclination towards water, it would only be fitting for you to be reincarnated as the son of a water god. I find it something of an ironic joke from Fate, that your zanpakuto, a mirror of your soul, is so water inclined and then you ended up being reincarnated as a demigod of Poseidon.”

 

Percy pouted and glared at the amused Lord of the Dead.

 

“As for why you…well, there are a considerable amount of shinigami who’d died before the wipe, however none were as talented or powerful as Kaien, as you. The fact that you are a demigod and also a child of one of the Big Three can only bolster your shinigami powers even more. You being part of the Great Prophesy just makes it more interesting.”

 

He ruffled Percy’s hair, who pouted even more at that action and at the last sentence.

 

“Hurry it up and eat. It is time you go back to the world of the living,” Hades ruffled his hair one more time, before turning and striding out of the throne room.

 

Percy continued to eat, uncomfortable in the sudden silence he was engulfed with. Being left alone, he let himself get dragged into his thoughts to avoid focusing on the silence. It was strange, his new life. He was now close enough to Hades to be snarky and comfortably call him uncle. Thanatos had become a very close friend in the days he’d been training (though he was sure that Thanatos had been in his body the entire time, so he had no idea how the god could be there too…). He’d also eliminated plenty of Hollows, regaining his skills from his past life little by little until he was near the skill level he had been before he died. Hades’ hellish training had ensured that he was at least lieutenant level again, even if he wasn’t Kaien Shiba’s level. His past self had been close to captaincy…

 

He frowned, thinking about it. He still had a long ways to go, and that meant more training.

 

He sighed, finishing up, before he stood up and got ready to leave. Seeing a folded piece of elegant and expensive-looking black paper, he snorted and snatched it up, reading it.

 

_Perseus,_

_Remember that task I have set forth for you ahead. Soon you will be heading to Camp Half-Blood, where you will learn of the theft of the Lightning Bolt. They will accuse me immediately, so it is up to you to clear my name and to find my missing Helm. I will act as if we are not acquainted and believe you guilty of the theft of my Helm, kidnapping your mother in the process of your journey to the camp. Do not worry, I will make sure she isn’t left wanting and is comfortable here, where I will also explain the truth and your role. Once you are on your Quest, act as if I am the target and head towards the Underworld. You probably will be able to gather clues of the real thief along the way._

_Hades_

_P.s. Do not mention my missing Helm to **anyone**. Keep that information secret._

He refolded it and left it behind, ready to return to the living world.

 

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He sensed that Thanatos was back in his room so he entered it and watched as the god was creepily sitting on his bed, in the corner and leaning on the wall, purposely wrapping the shadows around him as he stared with half-lidded eyes at a nervously shaking Grover on the other side of the room.

 

Percy rolled his eyes.

 

“Are you really going to do that to Grover? I mean, I said watch him, but you don’t have to freak him out.”

 

“This is more amusing though,” Thanatos answered in Percy’s body.

 

“What’s more amusing?” Grover squeaked out.

 

“Watching you freak out,” both Percy and Thanatos answered, though he could only hear Thanatos.

 

Grover pouted and glared at Thanatos. “You’re so mean, Percy. I’m gonna go out and find some apples to snack on, and ignore you in the mean time. Later.”

 

Thanatos grinned back cheekily at Grover, earning himself an annoyed _‘blehaha!’_

 

“I always thought that was an odd laugh or something, but it’s actually a goat bleat thing,” Percy said and Thanatos just shrugged.

 

“Probably,” he answered as Percy settled his spiritual body onto the bed next to Thanatos.

 

“How come he can’t see me? You would think he would be able to,” Percy commented.

 

The god hmmed. “Demigods and etc. don’t necessarily equate to being spiritually aware. They’re still living creatures. A mortal who can see through the Mist is more likely to be spiritual aware.”

 

“Huh. I see.”

 

“…”

 

“Where can I get some _ohagi_?”

 

The answering snickering just had Percy huffing in annoyance.

 

A couple hours later, Percy was back in his body and heading home with Grover, idly sitting in the Greyhound in boredom. When it broke down, he didn’t blink an eye, even when Grover panicked and wanted him to get back into the bus.

 

The three old ladies stared at him and he just nonchalantly stared back, even when they snipped the yarn cut. They smiled eerily and he grinned back cheerily.

 

They nodded at him and at last the bus was fixed, cheers loud in the background. He hustled Grover happily back into the bus, with the satyr staring at him incredulously. He was tempted to ditch Grover once they’d reach the station, but he’d shrugged to himself and allowed Grover to go to the bathroom and then escort him to his house. Grover reluctantly left and he didn’t even bother greeting Gabe or his buddies, heading straight to his room and closing the door with a decisive click.

 

To avoid unnecessary confrontations, he locked the door behind him.

 

When his mother finally came home, he straightened himself up and took a deep breath. It was time to start his big act and start to pretend. It was relatively easy to move things along, the trip to Montauk a big help. He straightforwardly told his mother everything that had happened, minus the shinigami and Hades bits, but including Alecto and all the odd things that were telling and his mother would understand.

 

She didn’t give him answers, answers he already knew but was pretending not to, but he understood her reasons anyway.

 

From there, it was all a bit of a blur.

 

They went to Montauk, had a great though short time of it, he had this _weird_ dream of an eagle and a horse he couldn’t make heads or tails about (he’ll just ask Hades about it later), and then Grover was banging on their door. With no pants on.

 

Then they were rushing to camp, with his mother driving no holds barred against that crazy bull thing chasing after them.

 

The _Minotaur_ , of all monsters. Really now.

 

 _‘Come on, Uncle Hades. Really? The Minotaur? You just **had** to send the Minotaur?’_ Percy grumbled in his head.

 

Near the camp’s borders, he felt a tinge of regret as his mother panicked about his safety and was trying to hurriedly getting him across the border, feeling even worse that he wasn’t even feeling really worried about her and her own safety. He knew that she wouldn’t really get hurt and that his uncle would take care of her. And when she disappeared in a shower of gold, he could only mutter a prayer to Hades as Grover continued to be unconscious. Then, with skills he’d gained from training, he finally dispatched the Minotaur easily.

 

Glancing at Grover, he sighed and started to drag him across the border and to the Big House waiting for him with judgment.

 

The next two days was kind of…redundant and slow. After forcing himself to faint, he’d been force fed ambrosia and nectar by some blonde girl so he’d recover quicker, not that he needed them. Then he woke up to learn things he’d already known about for awhile now, thanks to Hades, and relearned about his demigod heritage and kept a straight face and attitude while talking with ‘Mr. D’, already having been warned of the temperamental wine god from the Lord of the Dead.

 

Chiron had then led him around, shown him where he was staying, and then left him there. He hid his grimace at the cramped space, smiled at Luke Castellan and gave him a friendly and thankful nod (Percy’s eyes lingered on the counselor for some reason, a little confused about it), and tried to think about what he was going to do from there.

 

“Don’t be shy, alright? We’re all family and we try to be there for each other,” Luke had said after having headed over to him.

 

Luke was nice. Percy decided he liked him.

 

“Thanks,” he beamed happily at the older male.

 

But before he could continue, the blonde girl from before appeared and snatched him away, forcibly dragging him from the other blond. He could see the tinge of red on her face as she apologetically said goodbye to Luke and took Percy away, and deduced she probably had a crush on the older male.

 

For some reason though, something about her made him frown. And her blushing made him aggravated. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he wasn’t too interested in thinking about it. Still, he didn’t know why he had a problem with her. She seemed an alright girl, bossy and headstrong, but alright…

 

She was still jabbering about the camp, showing him the places, and he was tempted to just tell her that she didn’t have to show him around if she didn’t want to. But instead he just nodded and hmmed at the right places, pretending to be paying attention.

 

“Hey! We got a newbie!” a loud voice yelled and he indifferently looked over to see a brunette stomping over to them, with a couple of other girls that looked similar to her following.

 

“Clarisse,” the blonde next to him frowned.

 

“Princess,” this Clarisse sneered back.

 

Percy watched in amusement. He really had been hanging around Hades too long.

 

“Hey you –newbie!” Clarisse turned her attention to him. “It’s time for an initiation –”

 

“Say, you know where to get something to eat? I’m starvin’. This girl’s been showing me the camp and all, but I’d much rather find something to snack on.”

 

“My name’s Annabeth, not girl!” the blonde hissed indignantly.

 

“Right, Annabeth. You never introduced yourself,” he said flatly, looking at her blandly. “Please do so before dragging me off again with no explanation.”

 

She flushed red in embarrassment and Clarisse smirked in enjoyment, preferring to watch for right then.

 

“So, Clarisse, know anywhere I can actually eat at?” he turned back to the other girl.

 

“The kitchen, but they’re locked,” she said dryly.

 

“Oh, okay. We’ll just break in,” he shrugged.

 

Clarisse barked out a laugh. “I like you, newbie. Alright, I’ll show you the kitchens and then you’re on your own on breaking in.”

 

“Fine, fine,” he waved her off.

 

He ditched Annabeth and followed the rougher girl, leaving Annabeth and the other girls, but it wasn’t really his fault. Annabeth _had_ dragged him off without explanation as to who she was or why she was doing so, _and_ hadn’t considered that he would be famished.

 

Without any hassle, Percy easily picked the lock and then they snuck in. Percy hummed as he picked up a loaf of bread, spread nutella on a bunch of slices, cut off the edges, and rolled them up into rolls. They sat down on the floor, leaning against the cabinets.

 

“So who’s your dad or mom?” he asked curiously, taking a bite out of the nutella roll he’d made.

 

“Ares,” she announced proudly. “Who do you think is going to be your dad? Or mom?” she turned the question around.

 

“Poseidon,” he recklessly revealed to her.

 

Her eyebrows raised. “One of the Big Three, huh. You’re either really gutsy or cocky. Or both.”

 

He grinned cheekily at her. “I’ll go with both.”

 

She laughed uproariously and he hmmed entertainingly.

 

“Let’s just say I’ve always felt at home in water,” he murmured after she’d calmed down, finishing up his second nutella roll and giving her a mysterious smile and an odd look in his eyes.

 

Clarisse looked at him calculatingly, inwardly frowning.

 

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That dinner, Percy idly moved half of his food to one side and the other was piled on the other. He contemplated himself on which god he should be praying to that night, Hades or Poseidon. It was one thing to carelessly joke to Clarisse about his father being Poseidon and another to arrogantly pronounce to all here that he firmly believed the sea god was his father. He was also thinking of giving offerings to them both, hence the splitting of the food.

 

He could just say he was being random.

 

But then he’d have to call the other gods’ names for dinner in the coming days.

 

Glancing up, he watched the others going up to the fire and lining up to give their offerings. Well, he didn’t necessarily have to say their names aloud. After all, Poseidon was one, but he didn’t even want to mention all the kinds of trouble he’d get into for saying Hades’ name.

 

He went up quickly, swiping one side of his plate and silently saying a prayer to Hades, before repeating the process on the other side for Poseidon. Then soon enough, it was time for bed and Percy lay in his sleeping bag, wide awake.

 

Unable to stay, he got out of his sleeping bag and began to sneak out of the Hermes cabin. He spotted Cabin Three, hesitantly watching it, before he crept closer and then snuck in. It was as accepting as it had been earlier, when Chiron had shown him around and he had stood at the entrance, momentarily basking in the welcoming air.

 

His hands danced across the planes of the walls, feeling seashells and pearls as he walked on the smooth wooden floor. He hummed playfully, enjoying himself and feeling at home.

 

He was humming a lot.

 

“You know, it’s admirable to sneak into other cabins, but it’s just plain gutsy and suicidal to sneak into one of the Big Three.”

 

“I heard something similar to that earlier,” Percy easily remarked back, not even turning to look at the speaker.

 

“I’m surprised the wrath of Poseidon hasn’t crashed into you yet, for trespassing,” Luke admitted, and Percy finally faced him, seeing the impish grin on the blond’s face.

 

Percy shrugged. “I’m lovable. Or lucky.”

 

Luke laughed and Percy cracked a smile. When Luke quieted, a soft smile graced his lips.

 

Percy sucked in a breath harshly.

 

_‘That smile…’_

“Miyako,” he breathed out.

 

Started 8/12/10–Completed 5/15/11


	3. Because You're Not You

Percy had been rather awkward with Luke after that. And it was _very_ obvious.

 

Luke noticed it the most. Whenever the two had practiced together, Percy would look at him strangely. There were times where he could read the usually unreadable looks. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but sometimes Percy would look like he was looking at him in longing…sometimes sadly…sometimes confusion…or sometimes there would be this odd look of fondness that Luke tried to brush off as admiration for an older mentor, and yet couldn’t quite succeed in doing so.

 

There were instances where Luke would be flirting a bit with some of the Aphrodite girls, though these days it seemed hollow and somehow unsatisfying, and he’d see Percy passing by. On the days the younger boy would pause and look over to him, Percy would freeze and look like he was in pain and slightly angry. And then a look of bitterness would cross his face and he’d walk away.

 

On the days that Percy kept walking on, Luke would frown and for some reason become irritable and stop paying attention to the girls. He’d politely excuse himself and sulk on his bed in the Hermes cabin for awhile after that.

 

He _could not understand_ what had happened or what was wrong…or understand what the hell was wrong with himself while he was at it.

 

There were times where Percy would almost seem like he was eager to be near Luke and kind of clung to him in a way. And then there were times where the younger boy would cringe away from him, making Luke self-conscious and wonder what was so wrong with him to bother Percy so. Worse still was when Percy would flinch away, looking oddly wounded at him (he _could not understand_ this), and looking like he’d rather be anywhere but there and wanting to avoid Luke very much –to the point where Percy almost always, at these times, looked like he wished he could get as far away from Luke and as fast as he could.

 

It was kind of depressing.

 

Like now.

 

“Hey, Percy. You seemed kind of down lately, so I thought I’d bring over some blueberries to snack on together,” Luke found Percy moodily staring into the lake.

 

The other demigod glanced at him in surprise before smiling hesitantly.

 

“I thought you liked raspberries,” Percy murmured to himself.

 

Luke’s eyebrows flew upwards, confusion stewing inwardly. “Where’d you heard that? I think I’ve always liked blueberries…”

 

There it was again, the cringing away. He was starting to wonder if Percy somehow knew about his plans with Kronos or something, which was why he was shying away all of a sudden. Though, Luke seemed more obsessed nowadays with finding out why Percy was acting this way with him and acting odd himself, to really remember or place importance on the upcoming godly war and solstice deadline. He found that even more odd and was wondering if perhaps he should see if he was sick or something.

 

Without another word, Percy plucked a blueberry from his bowl and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly as he gazed back at the waters.

 

“Like the waters much?” Luke asked teasingly. “I guess you’re still hopelessly believing you’re Poseidon’s kid, right?”

 

Percy’s lips reluctantly quirked upwards, but for some reason it made him feel a little more relaxed that Percy didn’t totally hate his guts.

 

“How’d you like yesterday’s sword training? Plus, it’s been what? Three, four days since your first day at camp and waking up?” Luke asked, trying to get a conversation going.

 

“It was…cool,” Percy almost shrugged, but stopped midway. “Things are still a little awkward and I still miss my mom. Plus, people all keep staring and watching me like they’re expecting something.”

 

Luke inwardly frowned at the lack of a real comment and the ‘almost shrug’ at sword training, considering he was the teacher and it was his favorite pastime.

 

“Don’t pay any mind to them. Anyways, looking forward to tonight’s Capture the Flag? It’ll be your first time too. Excited?”

 

“Yeah,” but it sounded halfhearted and Luke was starting to get confused.

 

“I was just talking to Grover,” Percy suddenly said. “He told me about the Pact and all, between the Big Three.”

 

“Disappointed that there’s definitely no way you can be Poseidon’s kid now?” Luke started teasing again.

 

“And he also talked about Thalia,” Percy continued, brushing off the tease easily and subtly indifferently. He also didn’t mention to the sandy-haired demigod that Grover hadn’t exactly mentioned Thalia by name and that he already knew about the Pact and Thalia from Hades.

 

Luke stiffened up, not really willing or happy to talk about Thalia. He forced a smile on his face.

 

“Did he?” the blond asked, forcing a nonchalant smile.

 

“Yeah. Sad that. I think I really would have liked her, even with an initial clash,” Percy ended wistfully, not bothering to start questioning the other male about the whole thing –though Luke had been anticipating and not looking forward to it. Percy had already gotten what he’d needed to know through Luke’s body language and overall reactions, and other subtle clues he’d managed to pick up. He didn’t need to directly question Luke, which would have been too suspicious, in his opinion, anyway.

 

Since Percy didn’t continue with the line of questioning about the topic as Luke thought he would, the blond demigod gradually started relaxing again.

 

“Try the raspberries. You might like them better,” Percy was back to being wistful.

 

The younger male stood up and started to walk away, leaving Luke rather out of sorts about the whole confrontation.

 

Later that night, they were beginning Capture the Flag at last. The long-awaited ‘game’ Percy had heard about. So far, it’s just been a bunch of running around. He yawned and continued his lazy walk, glancing around in boredom. He was by the creek, remembering he was supposed to guard the blue flag. He heard some loud bumbling along and glanced to the side to watch Clarisse and her brothers trample into the clearing, smug smirks on their faces as they thought they had him cornered and outnumbered.

 

“Well, this is starting to be a little more interesting now,” Percy hummed in satisfaction.

 

“Listen here, Jackson,” Clarisse’s smirk grew wider. “Just because I like you doesn’t mean we’re not going to kick your ass and get that flag.”

 

Percy just tilted his head and smiled, even more amused than earlier.

  
“Are you sure about that?”

Before he’d even finished the sentence, he had disappeared and a gust of wind went through their group, their clothing rustling frantically as they tried to keep armor and helmets on. And then Clarisse’s brothers were on the ground a second later, groaning in pain and Percy was right in front of her face, smiling playfully as he tapped her nose teasingly.

 

“You’d have to catch me first ~!” he sing-songed just as teasingly.

 

Clarisse’s jaw dropped at him, gaping in shock at her fallen brothers and then back at the mischievously grinning Percy. At that moment, she wouldn’t be surprised if that jerk was a Hermes kid after all –just from the look on his face.

 

“You…you…” she twitched.

 

“Catch me if you can!” and then he was off, running into the creek and waiting for them to chase after him. But then there was a loud roar that freaked out the Ares kids and made Percy inwardly frowned, facing towards where he knew he’d heard the roar coming from.

 

“Maa, maa,” Percy muttered, rubbing the back of his head in exasperation. “So troublesome.”

 

After the time he spent in the Underworld, he’d recognized that roar anywhere, especially having spent special ‘one-on-one’ training with the creatures. A hellhound, a damn hellhound.

 

 _‘Really, Uncle? So obvious,’_ Percy thought, convinced that Hades was having fun going along with making everyone actually believe he was the ‘big suspect’ in the Lightning Bolt case.

He leaned back, folding his arms behind his head as he stared down at the now visible hellhound. Then he huffed and with only the slightest of movement, he’d disappeared from that spot and appeared right next to the hellhound, swinging his blade downwards and beheading the thing…well, if it didn’t burst into golden dust once Percy had managed to hit it, it would’ve been beheaded. He looked up to see Clarisse’s brothers gaping dumbly at him, while the rest of the camp had apparently made it there and were currently staring at him in shock.

 

Luke was looking at him in amazement and curiosity, but Clarisse had a suspicious look in her eyes. Percy inwardly frowned at that, outwardly grinning widely.

 

“Huh, must be some real magic water, eh?” he laughed off his skill and ‘blaming’ the creek he was standing in, playing clueless at the same time.

 

Abruptly, he blinked and looked up, seeing a slight glowing from above his peripherals. He saw the green hologram of a trident floating above his head before disappearing, and knew that the other 50 percent of why they were giving him looks had been because of that.

 

Everyone’s looks intensified and he laughed nervously. Seeing Clarisse as the immediate threat, he smirked and winked at her in distraction, causing her to huff and yet lightly blush and avert her eyes. He missed Luke being the only one to have caught the exchange, and a scowl coming unbidden to the older male’s lips as he for some reason felt unhappy.

 

Later, Percy escaped from the many prying eyes and nonchalantly took refuge in the Ares cabin, curiously looking through their weapons stash as he was stared at in disbelief by the members of the cabin.

 

“What the hell are you doing in here?” Mark asked bluntly from his place on his bed, finally speaking up after Percy had been there for like half an hour already.

 

“‘Cause everyone else is being a pain and a brownnose. I’m here to take a break from the bombardment of stares,” Percy yawned and hefted a spear out of its place and twirled it experimentally.

 

“But why are you here?” Sherman deadpanned.

 

The demigod shinigami shrugged. “I don’t have any other place to go to for refuge.”

 

“You get along with everyone and yet you choose here to be with us,” Clarisse huffed. “Why aren’t you with Princess or that satyr friend of yours? Or even that troublemaker.”

 

Percy put a finger to his lips thoughtfully. “Annabeth is a nice girl and all, as I’ve said…but she rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Grover is busy with the Council and Dionysus, and Luke…”

 

He gave a strained smile that only Clarisse noted and shrugged again.

 

“So here I am. Besides, I like you, Clarisse ~! You’re so adorable! You remind me of an old friend…Don’t you like me too, Ru –Clarisse dearest?” he amended at the end, almost saying another name he thought he would never utter again.

 

“Che, shut up, you jerk,” Clarisse frowned, though she had a light blush again.

 

Percy just laughed and spent the rest of his time there teasing the cabin members until they were all red in the face but still unwilling to admit to their embarrassment due to pride.

 

The next day, Percy was moved to Cabin Three and glad he didn’t have to participate in chores because he had sided with the winning team in the Capture the Flag game. Irritably, he spent the day reorganizing his cabin the way he wanted and moving things again and again. He also was sure to avoid the hassle of going outside to be stared at like a zoo animal on display.

 

As night neared, he was surprised to have a sudden visit from Luke, who looked around his cabin with approval.

 

“Nice. So I guess your intuition about your godly parent was right, after all?” though Luke had a questioning look on his face that Percy ignored with practiced ease.

 

“Guess so,” Percy answered back indifferently. “What are you doing here, Luke? You need something?”

 

“I can’t just visit a friend? Especially when he’s moved on from the old cabin we shared and into his own? It’s a big moment, you know. You’re also going out on your own…becoming independent and becoming a man; I feel like I’m losing my only child already to the world,” Luke teased, wiping a tear from his eye playfully.

 

Percy snickered and shook his head. “Haha. Be quiet and spill.”

 

“Why are you acting weird with me?” Luke asked frankly, going straight into business and taking his words to heart.

 

Percy inwardly winced and wondered how he was going to resolve this without giving away anything. But it was Luke…it was _Miyako_.

 

And no matter what anyone said…no matter what was reality…he couldn’t stop his thoughts from thinking of that. He wasn’t Kaien anymore, but the instinctive feeling of loving and protecting _his wife_ was still there and couldn’t seem to dissipate, despite how hard he tried. Because at the same time, it was Luke and he was male and he wasn’t really Miyako anymore, even if Percy wanted him to be, even if he couldn’t stop thinking of the older male as her.

 

Reincarnation really is a bitch.

 

“I’m acting weird because…because…because…” and he couldn’t get the words out, more so as Luke came closer in anticipation for his answer and frustration that built from the past days. Then he was too close and Percy started panicking.

 

So Percy leaned up and kissed him.

 

+  
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_“Nejibana, what should I do? I wasn’t thinking and I just kissed him. And he doesn’t even know why!” Percy grabbed at his hair in frustration._

_The avatar of his zanpakuto smiled gently at him, tugging his hands away from his hair and holding them tentatively._

_“Percy, I know you’re in panic mode right now. Calm yourself. While I can’t guarantee things will be alright, I advise you to be calm and patient. He ran away straight after, remember? Be patient for I foresee that he will come to you for answers. I believe, since the two of you did not have the time to discuss what had happened, that he will come back for the truth once he had calmed down himself.”_

_Percy frowned, but sighed. He nodded in agreement to her words, smiling at her gratefully._

_“Thank you, Nejibana. I really needed that.”_

Luke had run away after the kiss, without waiting for an explanation or demanding one. Though Percy understood it was probably an instinctive reaction, he frowned in disappointment. He hadn’t been thinking himself when he’d kissed Luke, but he still wished that Luke would’ve made an overture by now.

 

Because Luke still hadn’t approached him and it’s been three days.

 

Aside from someone being immature and leaving an article about his and his mom’s disappearances on the front door of his cabin – _lookie, boys, my mom’s safe with Hades and I’m in on the plot, so hah!_ –and the rest of the camp being like children and avoiding him like he had the plague, Percy was contently living by himself and cruising through the days. And then there was the Luke problem, though he liked to not think about that.

 

Which was kind of hard to do nowadays, since his sword lessons had become one on one with the older male.

 

And then, on the eighth of June, he had been in the middle of a sword lesson with Luke when the blond stopped and stared at him. Unnerved, Percy had just been about to speak when Luke interrupted and forcefully took his sword and tossed both of them to the side.

 

“Percy, why did you kiss me? Do you…do you like me or something?” Luke had a light dusting of red on his cheeks when he finished. “Which is flattering, Percy, but I don’t swing that way…”

 

“I like you as a friend, but I don’t think I like you in that way,” Percy said. _‘At least I think so.’_ “It’s because…because you’re my wife!” he blurted out.

 

Luke looked at him blankly. “ _What?_ ”

 

Percy winced, inwardly berating himself. Then he hesitantly began explaining, unable to help himself with Luke, who deserved to understand. Luke was Miyako’s reincarnation and he couldn’t forget that, couldn’t get it out of his head. He’d never been able to deny Miyako anything and Luke seemed to have the same effect on him.

 

Luke frowned, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. Percy scuffed his shoes around, glancing at him every once and a while, and wondering what the blond was thinking about or going to say.

 

“I’m not Miyako.”

 

Percy froze and nearly snapped his head to face Luke, refraining at last minute. He didn’t know why he hadn’t been expecting that response, when it was so obvious that it would be coming. But somewhere deep inside of him, he’d hoped to have his Miyako back, even when he realistically knew that it was impossible and that Luke was not her.

 

Luke tentatively came closer. “Percy, I’m not her. Even if I am her reincarnation, I’m not her because I’m Luke now. Just like you aren’t Kaien.”

 

“I know I’m not Kaien,” Percy snapped irritably. “I’ve understood that from the beginning and like being just Percy and knowing the difference.”

 

The blond held up his hands. “Okay, okay. I get it. But even though you firmly know you aren’t Kaien, though maybe your understanding is a little shaky at certain times, I don’t think you quite understand –no, I don’t think you’ve _accepted_ I’m not Miyako. I’m not your wife, Percy. But I _am_ your friend and this won’t change I care and like you for who you are, and that I’ll be here for you.”

 

Percy looked down in embarrassment and shame, knowing that the blond was right and grateful that the other was still so nice to him after everything. He was also upset that he’d forced Luke into this image of someone who the other demigod wasn’t, just because he was desperate for a ghost of the past.

 

“Sorry, Luke. I’m just…it’s hard to stop mixing things up,” Percy ran a hand down his face wearily, suddenly feeling exhausted.

 

“It’s okay, Percy,” Luke smiled gently. “I get it. I don’t mind. Just remember I’m Luke.”

 

But gods, why did Luke had to have _Miyako’s smile_?

 

“But, uh…can you –can you tell me a little more about this Hollows and shinigami stuff?” Luke asked, a light of curiosity and interest in his eyes.

 

Percy smiled faintly and began telling his not-wife about a world he used to be a part of.

 

And that was how the days passed, Luke listening and asking questions, Percy explaining and even showing Luke some of his own self-training, sword lessons that turned into sword spars now that Percy was allowed to use his own style of sword fighting and didn’t have to hold back either, and even Percy teaching and training Luke in like-minded training. He’d started with getting Luke’s spiritual awareness even higher than it was and then showing him how to have it manifest first, before the first of a series of events would land him heading straight into his mission for Hades.

 

First, he was called up to the Big House by Grover, who looked extremely nervous and upset. Then he talked to Dionysus, who he inwardly felt was getting suspicious. That wasn’t good at all and he might have to cut back on the smart-alecky comments, maybe keep a lower profile…

 

Then he found out the Quest he’s been waiting for is finally his and then he’d had to go see the Oracle. Afterwards, he went back down from the Attic to see both Grover and Chiron there, where the centaur started to explain everything; the Quest, the prophecy for it, and Percy going along with implicating Hades as the main (and only to everyone else) culprit. He was given Riptide and he awkwardly accepted it, feeling his zanpakuto’s energy burn hot for a second before being left with just feelings of jealousy and indignation.

 

Now he was being asked to choose who to bring with him.

 

“Grover can’t be chosen as he is in the middle of something, and can’t be spared,” Chiron explained and it clarified Grover’s unhappy expression.

 

He had a feeling Hades had something to do with it and mentally thanked the god, as Percy hadn’t wanted to bring Grover along, even though he really liked Grover and was his friend. He just had someone else in mind.

 

“Luke and Clarisse,” Percy announced with a note of finality, looking completely serious.

 

Though the choices were a surprise, the two nodded and uncertainly accepted it. Grover glanced anxiously to a corner and Percy caught it, looking over to see a faint shimmer there. Percy concentrated a little more, and the invisibility melted away from his sight and he saw Annabeth standing there in shock, before steadily going into silent crying.

 

“I think I should go inform the two now,” Percy said, turning away and pretending he hadn’t seen anything. He felt bad for her, really, but he couldn’t understand how she could even think of him picking her when he hardly knew her and he was closer to the two he’d mentioned.

 

He walked out and as he closed the front door, heard the faint sounds of soft sobbing behind it.

 

When he’d finally returned to Luke, after he’d visited Clarisse with the news and ended up with a whole cabin gaping at him (he had a feeling he was going to enjoy teasing them endlessly), he saw that the blond was still in the middle of the exercise he’d given him right before he had to leave to get his Quest.

 

“This is hard,” Luke grumbled.

 

“You have a high spiritual pressure though. You had problems earlier too, uh…Miyako did,” Percy mumbled, feeling things turn sort of awkward after he’d said that.

 

Luke gave a just as awkward smile. “Uh right. I used to, huh?” he gave a laugh that sounded kind of fake and Percy winced at the sound of it.

 

“Sorry,” Percy averted his eyes.

 

Percy kept _doing_ that. He didn’t mean to, but he couldn’t help making little comments like that that either put Luke off or made him uncomfortable. He could differentiate his new and past lives easily, but Miyako seemed to be the only thing he couldn’t separate from either life. He felt like such a jerk each time because Luke was his own person and wanted to be seen as that, and yet Percy continuously put someone else’s image on top of him.

 

_“Hey, didn’t you like pork to chicken?” Percy asked in confusion, seeing Luke cutting into a piece of chicken. Luke looked confused for a second as well before realization crossed his face and he grimaced quickly, turning it into a gentle smile that had Percy inwardly wincing again._

_“Percy…I think you mean Miyako preferred pork. I…kind of like chicken more,” Luke ended up muttering._

_Percy’s eyes widened and he apologized profusely._

It was a frequent mistake he kept making, and he didn’t want Luke to think he didn’t like him for himself. He was a good guy as himself…it was just that Percy couldn’t seem to let go, just like Kaien couldn’t let go even unto both of their deaths.

 

“I got news for you,” Percy smirked, changing the subject and pretending that that whole thing hadn’t happened. He was good at that… “I got a Quest. You want to come?”

 

Luke lightly gaped, before grinning widely. “Seriously, you picked me to come along with you?”

 

“Of course. Who else? I hardly care for many in here, though mostly because I haven’t spent much time with anyone but you, and a little of Clarisse. Though I haven’t been in camp for long either.”

 

The older male’s grin faltered. “Hey Percy, you’re not doing this because I’m…I _was_ Miyako, are you?”

 

“What? Well, no. I like you as you too, you know. Out of anyone here, I am closest to you, which is aside the Miyako factor,” Percy had been caught off guard. Still, he caught the satisfied expression on Luke’s face that disappeared just like that. He just shrugged it off, not thinking much about it.

 

“So you coming?”

 

“Duh, hell yeah,” Luke rolled his eyes.

 

“Great, get packing and then we can go back to training!” Percy said cheerily.

 

Luke groaned, mindless of Percy’s snickering at his reaction.

 

Started 8/9/11 –Completed 10/4/11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Percy will be quite different from the books because of his past self injecting a bit into him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this isn’t in the crossover section because I don’t really consider it a cross if there’s no characters from the other series. It has elements of Bleach, but it’s not a complete crossover with converging cast. Capiche? Since it’s only/mainly PJO and its characters, it’ll be in PJO.
> 
> And I’ll try to explain terms and the story of Bleach (and my version of things) to those who don’t know the anime series all that well. Those with Bleach, don’t expect spoilers past Soul Society Arc, since I haven’t caught up. Whatever to do with the Winter War, I’m on my own and making up my version on things. For now. Who knows later.
> 
> Nejibana’s humanoid appearance is based off of Belldandy from Oh My Goddess! Except with blue hair and eyes, and a completely white outfit and really pale white skin. Kind of snowy white. She’s taller than Percy, haha! And will always be, even when ickle Percy grows up. On that note, Lucifer from Angel Sanctuary is totally my Hades: http:// gallery. aethereality. net/ download. php?id=177


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